Plus Balenciaga launches a moody new music collab and the Flannery sisters take on fine jewelry
Words by ELIZABETH VARNELL
Generative AI Meets Maison Margiela’s Most Iconic Shoe
The Tabi shoe, one of the most recognizable silhouettes in fashion since its inception in 1988, is popping up in Costa Mesa. Alongside a deep dive into the archives of past footwear designs, MAISON MARGIELA in partnership with Hypno AI technology dares devotees to create a unique digital pair of the irreverent shoes. Initially devised by Martin Margiela and inspired by Japanese split-toe work socks in use since the 17th century, the Tabi has been continually reinterpreted since its debut, when the designer slathered each sole in red paint to leave distinct footprints along a cotton fabric-covered runway. The same prints appear throughout the South Coast Plaza pop-up. In recent years, the house’s creative director, John Galliano, has added to the trove of split-toe lore with iterations such as Mary Janes, brogues, loafers, sandals, ballet flats, pumps, mules, slingbacks, and sneakers in addition to the ubiquitous boots. With generative AI, the options are endless. The #Tabiology ephemeral exhibition is open through April 15. 3333 Bristol St., Costa Mesa, 714-512-3400; maisonmargiela.com.
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Good Jeans
Denim sourced from specialists with stockpiles of the material created before 2000 — the holy grail of circularity — comprises the latest MIU MIU Upcycled collection. Jeans in particular hues and weight with unique fading marks are repurposed as wardrobe archetypes, including wide-legged jeans, trucker jackets, bra tops, and shorts, plus hair bands and baseball caps. Prized for their singular patinas, the outer seams on each vintage garment are preserved before being deconstructed and reimagined by hand with as much of the original material as possible. Black silk chiffon petals, faceted beads, and crystals set into antique metal, inspired by 1950s haute couture, embellish the garments. The collection also includes purses, which is a first: Lush leather remnants from the house’s array of carryalls are reconfigured as Upcycled Patch bags in this limited offering accompanied by Aura Blockchain verification. miumiu.com.
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Color Haze
Vlad Yavorskyy’s devotion to colored gemstones is fueling a vibrant new collaboration with responsible miner GEMFIELDS, the innovative global supplier that specializes in finding and sorting stones in a spectrum of hues. Tapping rubies from the company’s Montepuez mine in Mozambique and emeralds from Zambia’s Kagem mine — collected through a transparent process and technologically advanced sorting house — Yavorskyy and his IVY NEW YORK designers have crafted a new collection of jewelry with the rubies and emeralds set alongside rose-cut diamonds in 18-karat gold. Each piece, designed and handcrafted in-house at IVY, takes inspiration from 19th-century grand balls, myriad other sources, and the stones themselves. Yavorskyy has added them to bold solitaire rings and baubles with floral motifs plus regal chokers and chandelier earrings — always foregrounding chromaticity. ivynewyork.com.
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Van Cleef & Arpels’ Unveils Captivating Salons
A striking minaudière, designed by VAN CLEEF & ARPELS in 1937, inspired the pyramidal pattern of the elegant new ivory-and-gold facade fronting the French jewelry house’s reimagined boutique in Costa Mesa, which opened in 2002. The new 4,200-sq.-ft. space takes design cues from historic archival works alongside the natural landscape, flora, and fauna of its Southern California perch. The art deco roots of the facade motif reemerge inside, where two large display rooms are filled with creations that also share plucked-from-the-archives provenance combined with of-the-moment constructions. Five salons with libraries touch on dance, culture, love, nature, and fairy tales, and the space includes a bridal salon as well as the private Poetic salon. 3333 Bristol St., South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa, 714-545-9500; vancleefarpels.com.
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Twinkle Toes
Exacting craftmanship and the allure of individually applied Swarovski crystals led to JIMMY CHOO’s newest eye-catcher, the Crystal Slipper ($5,300). Heart shapes and nine other varieties of the geometrically faceted sparklers cover each pair, including the underside, leading to the hand-finished result: pumps embellished with more than 12,000 crystals. The house’s creative director, Sandra Choi, found inspiration for the radiant footwear in 18th-century rococo court shoes and adorned each pointy-toe with hand-embroidered clusters of crystal hearts. An iridescent lining combined with the heels’ glassy exteriors adds to the shoes’ distinctive glow. 250 N. Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills, 310-860-9045; 2855 Stevens Creek Blvd., Westfield Valley Fair, Santa Clara, 408-516-1470; 6600 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Westfield Topanga, Canoga Park, 818-340-7221; jimmychoo.com.
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Let’s Dance
The graceful fluidity of ballet combined with Austrian Secessionists’ mission to integrate progressive art into all aspects of life inspired Vienna-born designer Arthur Arbesser’s Spring 24 collaboration with WEEKEND MAXMARA. The deconstructed silhouettes of the Phantasie collection riff on dancers’ full skirts and flouncy dresses while also touching on their post-rehearsal nonchalance. Vividly colored geometric designs in royal blue, mint, and aubergine — with a hint of Klimtian sparkle — join striped or solid shirts, jackets, and pants made from cotton poplin, silk, and jersey. An inventive trench includes a utility-inspired canvas collar, and there’s a ballet pink iteration of the Pasticcino bag. 3333 Bristol St., South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa, 714-754-1876; 660 Stanford Shopping Center, Palo Alto, 650-323-1740; us.weekendmaxmara.com.
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Brand New Bags
After years of simplifying wardrobes, VERONICA BEARD is adding bags to its roster of ready-to-wear classics for on-the-go women. The line, helmed by sisters-in-law Veronica Swanson Beard and Veronica Miele Beard, is launching seven silhouettes, from leather buckets to canvas cross-body styles to carryall totes, in a neutral palette: white, blue, green, brown, and black. They are on offer at all the line’s boutiques, including its newest in Newport Beach, the company’s seventh door in California. There, they join the lineup of dickey jackets, denim, and stretch nylon scuba suits, plus dresses, tops, skirts, outerwear, and shoes arrayed inside walls draped with Newcastle Fabrics raffia wallpaper. Next up, the entire assortment of clothes and accessories will arrive in San Diego, where the brand will open up shop in late April. 401 Newport Center Dr., Fashion Island, Newport Beach; veronicabeard.com.
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Nahmias Stages a Maxfield Takeover
Doni Nahmias tapped digital artist and 3D designer Andrés Reisinger for a menswear capsule that debuted during a weeklong takeover at MAXFIELD in Los Angeles, complete with a giant apple. The motif appears abstractly and literally across a Nahmias tan double-breasted blazer and pleated pants (embellished with hand-beaded versions of the ripe fruit), T-shirts, and jeans. The collection also includes pink-hued hoodies, pastel flower-embellished sweaters, reversible quilted coats, and floral tie-dye cargo pants. Nahmias, who is based in L.A. and has often credited Maxfield as a boundary-pushing beacon of inspiration throughout his career, transformed Reisinger’s physical pieces, such as the apple, and digital works including Pollen, Take Over, and Blush into limited edition wearable pieces exclusively available at the Melrose Avenue retailer amid Reisinger’s immersive interior design experience. Also on hand is the Nahmias Spring 2024 collection and diamond chain-link ID bracelets created in collaboration with fine jewelry line Hoorsenbuhs. maxfieldla.com.
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Cast’s Fine Jewelry Arrives in Palo Alto
Eric Ryan and Rachel Skelly’s San Francisco–based fine jewelry line, CAST, has a new boutique in Palo Alto stocked with a trove of colorful baubles in unexpected shapes alongside special collections designed in partnership with creatives including artist Windy Chien and jewelry designer Lauren Harwell Godfrey. Cast’s reversible Flip Ring in black onyx and white agate or lapis and turquoise or a combination with tiger’s eye is here, as is the curvy silver-and-gold Fearless Muse ring. The navy-walled shop is meant to inspire joy during the hunt for jewels. Diamond studs set in gold or silver sit inside bright ceramic squares that match pendant necklaces and the line’s Highlight Dome ring — all in candy-colored iterations. Mod geometric vitrines and lacquered cases line the Stanford Shopping Center space, the company’s third retail location in addition to recently launched Nordstrom style bars, giving it a playful yet polished allure. 660 Stanford Shopping Center, Palo Alto, 650-507-5599; castjewelry.com.
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Angelo Badalamenti headlines the latest Balenciaga Music Series
The late American composer and arranger Angelo Badalamenti, known for his pop collaborations and film compositions for director David Lynch, hand-selected an original playlist featuring a compilation of his own works that’s now streaming (or downloadable) through BALENCIAGA’s website. The project, begun in 2020, before the artist’s passing, includes limited edition oversized T-shirts and crewneck sweatshirts emblazoned with portions of the composer’s hand-scripted Torch Theme originally written for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. The playlist and merch series is part of a partnership with Manhattan School of Music—the conservatory where Badalamenti studied—and its composition department head Dr. Reiko Fueting, creating a master class in homage to Badalamenti tasking participants with creating original pieces. Stay tuned to see what works emerge from the Balenciaga-sponsored class. 338 N. Rodeo Dr., 310-854-0557; 418 N. Rodeo Dr., 424-421-7385; balenciaga.com.
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Stylist sisters create a geometric fine jewelry capsule with VRAI
Sustainable fine jewelry line VRAI has a bold new collaboration with stylists Petra and Meehan Flannery. The California-inspired pieces, reflecting the sisters’ coastal upbringing, are quite architectural and set with larger stones in eight rare diamond shapes including lozenge, hexagon, half-moon and kite cuts. All fifteen sculptural designs ranging from cuff bracelets, hoops and band rings to collars with drop pendants are made of recycled gold. Additionally, VRAI’s diamonds, created in a certified zero-emission foundry powered by renewable energy, combined with the company’s master cutters, make such an artfully bespoke offering possible. Just as the sisters’ styling approach reflects their less-is-more ethos, the stones set in elegant dome shapes can be worn solo or layered for a more dramatic assemblage. vrai.com.
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Genny’s Spring Collection Arrives in Beverly Hills
Italian brand GENNY installed creative director Sara Cavazza Facchini’s spring collection inside its newly opened Beverly Hills boutique, now awash in shades of white and a range of metallic hues. Cavazza Facchini marked her tenth year helming the line with a presentation highlighting her trademark hue and a complementary palette that evokes the summer sun through shades of yellow gold, rose gold, and platinum and just a dash of blazing hot pink. Garden orchids adorn bags, jewelry, heels, and sandals as well as brooches and embroidered designs on the looks themselves. Sequin gowns and silk day dresses hang alongside draped kaftans, knitwear, wide-leg trousers, and blazers with elegant open sleeves. There are even three swimsuit designs, also in shades of white, to complete the polished mix. 9536 Brighton Way, Beverly Hills, 310-734-7115; genny.com.
Originally posted on March 19, 2024, updated on March 28, 2024.
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